It’s pedals to the metal in this week’s Tura Thursday as the gorgeous cars who have their own place in the IMCDB (the IMDB for cars!)

Of course, we all know and love the image of iconic cult figure Varla at the wheel of Russ Meyer’s iconic 1964 Porsche 365 Coupé. However, the rest of the pussycat rides , though relatively new at the time of the film production, are less known: namely, the 1959 MG A 1600 mki driven by Billie, the 1958 Triumph TR3A driven by Rosie…

…and the 1963 MGB convertible driven by Varla’s first victim of the film, smooth talking Tommy who learned the hard way that how not to impress her. In a 2003 interview for The Porsche and the Pussycats, Tura told journalist Fanny Johnstone:

“The Porsche 356 in the film belonged to Russ Meyer. It was grey inside and out with a white stripe. It had been years since I’d driven a stick-shift, so I asked him to let me practise a little first. He said `OK, I’ll give you two hours.’ I was used to driving vehicles but they were automatics. I learned on a stick shift and once you’ve learned you never really forget it, but it takes a while to get it back. So after two hours in the desert I got used to the stick shift again, and the clutch.

When he let me drive it for the first time he said, `Hey, don’t scratch my car.’ I said, `If I scratch it I’ll buy it.’ Russ said, `You couldn’t afford it,’ and I said, `You wanna bet?’

I would have loved to keep the Porsche, but it belonged to Russ and he wasn’t about to part with it. So, in the end I got my own. Now I have a 914 myself. So there! I love the way it handles and how it hugs the road. I could almost fly in it.”

Today, the iconic images of Varla in the Porsche are seen and celebrated by fans and artists of all disciplines the world over. Yet, we also have to remember the vital, or should we say fatal, role of Willy’s Jeep as the ultimate sturdy escape vehicle which ultimately and ironically, ended up being the instrument of Varla’s own violent death. Enjoy a quick death by wheels experience in this 46 second whirlwind cut of ‘The Porsche, the Pussycats, the Triumph, the MGBs, Willy’s Jeep and the Wheelchair!’ courtesy of Tura Satana Productions (HM)